[Senate Hearing 118-287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-287
OVERSIGHT OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
AND PENDING LEGISLATION
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
WATER AND POWER
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
on
S. 461 S. 1662 S. 2162
S. 482 S. 1955 S. 2166
S. 739 S. 2102 S. 2169
S. 1118 S. 2160 S. 2202
S. 1215 S. 2161 S. 2247
S. 1521
__________
JULY 19, 2023
__________
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
55-569 WASHINGTON : 2025
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia, Chairman
RON WYDEN, Oregon JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MIKE LEE, Utah
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico STEVE DAINES, Montana
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
MARK KELLY, Arizona CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
------
Subcommittee on Water and Power
RON WYDEN, Chair
BERNARD SANDERS JAMES E. RISCH
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO MIKE LEE
MARK KELLY JOHN HOEVEN
JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER BILL CASSSIDY
Renae Black, Staff Director
Sam E. Fowler, Chief Counsel
Melanie Thornton, Professional Staff Member
Sarah Kessel, Professional Staff Member
Richard M. Russell, Republican Staff Director
Justin J. Memmott, Republican Chief Counsel
John Tanner, Republican Deputy Staff Director for Lands
David Gardner, Republican Legislative Assistant
C O N T E N T S
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OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Wyden, Hon. Ron, Subcommittee Chairman and a U.S. Senator from
Oregon 1
Risch, Hon. James E., Subcommittee Ranking Member and a U.S.
Senator from Idaho............................................. 2
King, Jr., Hon. Angus S., a U.S. Senator from Maine.............. 5
Hoeven, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from North Dakota.............. 6
Kelly, Hon. Mark, a U.S. Senator from Arizona.................... 18
Cortez Masto, Hon. Catherine, a U.S. Senator from Nevada......... 18
Padilla, Hon. Alex, a U.S. Senator from California............... 20
Daines, Hon. Steve, a U.S. Senator from Montana.................. 21
Lee, Hon. Mike, a U.S. Senator from Utah......................... 55
WITNESS
Touton, Hon. Camille C., Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation,
U.S. Department of the Interior................................ 82
ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED
Alameda County (CA) Water District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 223
American Council on Renewable Energy:
Letter for the Record........................................ 28
American Farm Bureau Federation:
Letter for the Record........................................ 221
American Public Power Association and National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association:
Letter for the Record........................................ 36
American Rivers:
Letter for the Record........................................ 30
American Rivers et al.:
Letter for the Record dated May 18, 2023..................... 26
Letter for the Record dated July 18, 2023.................... 186
American Whitewater:
Letter for the Record........................................ 31
Aurora Water:
Letter for the Record dated July 10, 2023.................... 184
Letter for the Record dated July 14, 2023.................... 185
Bay, Norman et al.:
Letter for the Record........................................ 46
BPC Action:
Statement for the Record..................................... 37
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance:
Letter for the Record........................................ 42
Carter, Bob:
Statement for the Record..................................... 225
Central Utah Water Conservancy District:
Section 207 Water Conservation Credit Program 2022 Annual
Report..................................................... 59
ClearPath Action:
Letter for the Record........................................ 39
Colorado River Authority of Utah:
Letter for the Record........................................ 68
Colorado River District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 190
Colorado Springs Utilities:
Letter for the Record........................................ 189
Colorado Water Congress:
Letter for the Record........................................ 192
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes:
Letter for the Record........................................ 40
Consumer Energy Alliance:
Letter for the Record........................................ 38
Cortez Masto, Hon. Catherine:
Opening Statement............................................ 18
Cramer, Hon. Kevin and Hon. John Hoeven:
Letter for the Record........................................ 7
Daines, Hon. Steve:
Opening Statement............................................ 21
Defenders of Wildlife et al.:
Letter for the Record........................................ 233
Denver Water:
Letter for the Record........................................ 193
Dolores River Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 194
Energy Keepers, Inc.:
Letter for the Record........................................ 44
Fall River Electric Cooperative:
Letter for the Record........................................ 45
Family Farm Alliance:
Statement for the Record..................................... 236
(The) Freshwater Trust:
Letter for the Record with appendices........................ 264
Friant Water Authority:
Statement for the Record..................................... 257
Friends of Great Salt Lake:
Letter for the Record........................................ 69
Grand Valley Water Users Association:
Letter for the Record........................................ 196
Hoeven, Hon. John:
Opening Statement............................................ 6
Jicarilla Apache Nation:
Letter for the Record........................................ 197
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 71
Kelly, Hon. Mark:
Opening Statement............................................ 18
King, Jr., Hon. Angus S.:
Opening Statement............................................ 5
Klamath Water Users Association:
Statement for the Record..................................... 166
Kotek, Hon. Tina, Governor of Oregon:
Statement for the Record..................................... 152
Lee, Hon. Mike:
Opening Statement............................................ 55
Chart comparing Great Salt Lake water levels in 1986 and 2022 56
Mesa County (CO) Board of Commissioners:
Letter for the Record........................................ 198
Miami, OK (City of):
Letter for the Record with attached Exhibits A and B......... 154
Midvale Irrigation District:
Statement for the Record..................................... 250
Montana Electric Cooperatives' Association:
Letter for the Record........................................ 47
(The) Nature Conservancy:
Letter for the Record dated July 17, 2023.................... 72
Letter for the Record dated July 10, 2023.................... 211
New England Hydropower Company, LLC et al.:
Letter for the Record........................................ 23
New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission:
Letter for the Record........................................ 199
North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives:
Letter for the Record........................................ 11
North Dakota Corn Growers Association et al.:
Letter for the Record........................................ 10
North Dakota Department of Water Resources:
Letter for the Record........................................ 17
North Dakota Irrigation Association:
Letter for the Record with attached Bureau of Reclamation
document................................................... 12
Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 201
Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Municipal
Subdistrict:
Letter for the Record........................................ 202
NorthWestern Energy:
Letter for the Record........................................ 49
Oregon Water Resources Congress:
Statement for the Record..................................... 161
Orland Unit Water Users' Association:
Statement for the Record..................................... 252
Pacific NorthWest Economic Region:
Letter for the Record........................................ 51
Padilla, Hon. Alex:
Opening Statement............................................ 20
Phillips, Hon. Willie L., Chairman of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission:
Responses to Questions for the Record........................ 149
Written testimony related to S. 1521......................... 254
PNGC Power:
Letter for the Record........................................ 50
Polis, Hon. Jared, Governor of Colorado:
Letter for the Record........................................ 203
Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 263
Ravalli Electric Cooperative:
Statement for the Record..................................... 52
Risch, Hon. James E.:
Opening Statement............................................ 2
San Juan Water Commission:
Letter for the Record........................................ 205
Shawcroft, Benjamin D.:
Statement for the Record..................................... 260
Shawcroft, Gene:
Statement for the Record..................................... 78
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors et al.:
Letter for the Record with attached Klamath Water Users
Association section-by-section analysis of S. 482.......... 176
Skokomish Indian Tribe:
Letter for the Record........................................ 53
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 206
Southern Ute Indian Tribe:
Letter for the Record........................................ 208
Southwestern Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 210
Touton, Hon. Camille C.:
Opening Statement............................................ 82
Written Testimony............................................ 85
Responses to Questions for the Record........................ 147
Tri-County Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record dated July 17, 2023.................... 213
Letter for the Record dated July 10, 2023.................... 214
Trout Unlimited:
Letter for the Record........................................ 74
Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 215
U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service:
Statement for the Record on S. 739........................... 282
U.S. Department of the Interior:
Statement for the Record on S. 1955.......................... 276
Statement for the Record on S. 1521.......................... 277
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey:
Statement for the Record on S. 1118.......................... 280
Utah Department of Natural Resources:
Letter for the Record dated July 10, 2023.................... 216
Letter for the Record dated July 20, 2023.................... 283
Utah Water Users Association:
Letter for the Record........................................ 217
Ute Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record addressed to Senators Wyden and Risch.. 218
Letter for the Record addressed to Senators Hickenlooper and
Romney..................................................... 219
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District:
Letter for the Record........................................ 76
Western Resource Advocates:
Letter for the Record........................................ 220
Wyden, Hon. Ron:
Opening Statement............................................ 1
----------
The text for each of the bills addressed in this hearing can be found
on the Committee's website at: https://www.energy.senate.gov/hearings/
2023/7/water-and-power-subcommittee-hearing-to-receive-testimony-on-
pending-legislation
OVERSIGHT OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AND PENDING LEGISLATION
----------
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Water and Power,
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in
Room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Ron Wyden,
Chair of the Subcommittee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM OREGON
Senator Wyden. The Committee will come to order, and we are
very pleased that the Ranking Minority Member, Senator Risch,
someone who has worked very closely with me and many colleagues
on both sides of the aisle, is going to be our Ranking Member,
and I look forward to hearing his opening statement as well.
This is our first oversight and legislative hearing on the
Bureau of Reclamation's implementation of the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and to receive testimony on western water
legislation. We know temperatures are going through the
stratosphere at home in Oregon and across the West, and we have
got huge challenges with drought covering nearly a quarter of
the country and affecting 90 million people. So access to water
is not some abstract, distant issue. This is, for communities
from sea to shining sea, urgent priority business. And I want
to make clear that I want to work with every member of this
Subcommittee so that people in communities who face difficulty
accessing water see that we are responding in a bipartisan way
to them. And as I have discussed with a number of colleagues on
the Democratic side, and I just mentioned it to Senator Risch,
we want to work with other relevant committees in Congress to
address the full scope of water issues because the challenge
doesn't just stop at the border of every subcommittee or
committee's jurisdiction.
Today we are going to look at issues facing the Bureau of
Reclamation. Some of the bills attempt to advance federal water
policy to promote climate resiliency through what I think have
the potential to be innovative policy solutions. The bills on
today's agenda also call for more investment in more resilient
and robust infrastructure, and surface, groundwater, and
natural storage, water recycling and reuse. Now, with help from
the Congress, $8.3 billion was invested through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and another $4.6 billion with the Inflation
Reduction Act in western water infrastructure and drought
mitigation, and in programs that address fish recovery, habitat
restoration, and the environment. So with the magnitude of this
problem in front of us, it's important to make sure the Bureau
of Reclamation maximizes the potential of what are very
substantial investments.
We have 16 bills on the agenda. Eight bills that address
broad western water authorities and programs through the
Department of the Interior, and several bills that are
important to a number of our colleagues that address issues in
a particular state or at a specific Bureau of Reclamation
project. We also have hydropower permitting reform that, I
think Senator Risch remembers, this has always been a big issue
for us in the Pacific Northwest.
We are going to have members making opening remarks. Just
to touch on a couple of our Northwest issues with Senator
Merkley--the Water for Conservation and Farming Act, the
Watershed Results Act, and the Klamath Power and Facilities
Agreement Support Act. And Oregon communities throughout the
state, including the Klamath and Deschutes Basin, are suffering
through another really devastating drought year made worse with
the threats of wildfire and extreme heat. As the pressure
continues to mount, it is essential to get high-impact water
projects on the ground, and fast. That is what my Watershed
Results Act is about. We have used the best available science
and expertise to identify the most cost-effective approaches
for dealing with watersheds.
Second, our Water for Conservation and Farming Act helps
communities plan and better prepare for increased demand for
clean water by funding projects that improve dam safety,
improve the resiliency of watersheds, and benefit agricultural
and urban water users. I just came off seven rural town hall
meetings--in fact, starting in Idaho, I would say to Senator
Risch, and making my way westward, and these are really, for a
lot of our communities, these are survival kinds of issues.
Finally, we will also hear the Klamath Power and Facilities
Agreement Support Act, which addresses the needs of communities
in the Klamath Basin by authorizing programs to conserve water
and reduce the impact to fish and restore habitat in the Basin,
and also gives Reclamation the authority necessary to carry out
the Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement related to Keno and
Link River dams.
I want to thank all the sponsors for their involvement. I
look forward to hearing from them, and let's turn it over to
Senator Risch for his first opening remarks on the Subcommittee
as the Ranking Member.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES E. RISCH,
U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO
Senator Risch. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I
am very happy to be partnering with you on this particular
hearing. It is an issue close to your heart, I know, and
certainly to mine. The importance of water to our states cannot
be overstated, and that is true of a number of the people here
on the dais. Water has allowed us to do everything, from
transform deserts into fertile farmland, and in urban centers
to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable baseload power
across our region. Water is truly the lifeblood of what has
been referred to generally as the Great Basin, and sometimes
the Inland Empire, but generally in the rain shadow of the
Cascades and before you hit the Rocky Mountains, again, water
becomes an issue with the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains on
the east side. In any event, out west, water is a big, big
issue.
As you mentioned, we have got a number of bills on the
agenda here, and I'm not going to speak to all of them, but I
do want to speak to a couple that I think are very close to the
top. And I want to start with discussing one that is important
to both Idaho and Oregon, and that is hydropower. I am glad to
join Chairman Wyden in co-sponsoring Senate bill 1521, the
Community and Hydropower Improvement Act, introduced by Senator
Daines and Senator Cantwell. Both public and private dams serve
significant populations in rural areas in Idaho, with over half
of our in-state electricity generation coming from hydropower,
one of the reasons we have one of the lowest power rates in the
United States. Not only is this energy clean and affordable,
but it is also reliable, with the ability to ramp up and down,
depending on demand spikes and weather fluctuations. That is
one of the beauties of using stored water. They actually do it
by the hour. They can regulate the flows by the hour.
I want to highlight the Hells Canyon complex, truly an
engineering marvel. And I want to talk about that in
particular, and it consists of three dams owned and operated by
Idaho Power Company on the Snake River. These three dams
produce approximately 30 percent of the company's total
generation, providing unmatched importance to the company's
more than 600,000 residential and business customers in Idaho
and in Eastern Oregon. The Hells Canyon complex also presents a
prime example as to why we desperately need to improve the dam
licensing and relicensing process if we want to continue to
support clean and reliable hydropower. Idaho Power applied for
an updated FERC license for the Hells Canyon complex in July
2003, and it has still yet to be granted. Currently, it is
expected that at the best, the company could receive a new
long-term license at the end of 2024. Relicensing critical
energy infrastructure should not be a multi-decade process, but
it is.
In the meantime, Hells Canyon continues to be operated on a
temporary annual license, based on its previous license issued
in 1955. Not only does this mean these dams are needlessly
operating based on outdated information, but it also leaves no
possibility for investment or improvements to benefit
efficiency, ratepayers, local communities, or the environment.
Secretary Granholm said before this Committee that,
``Hydropower is a renewable, cheap form of power that we should
be expanding and not reducing.'' I strongly agree with her, and
this means finally fixing the hydropower licensing process. I
look forward to working with Senator Daines and the rest of my
colleagues on the Committee to see that it gets done.
One other issue I want to talk on, Mr. Chairman, is the
urban canal improvements, which is a critical issue to those of
us that live in places where we transport a lot of water out of
the riverbed. Specifically, infrastructure that was constructed
with a rural agriculture landscape long ago and has since
become urban. In my home State of Idaho, the New York Canal
carries water critical for agriculture and municipal uses 41
miles across the Treasure Valley, from the Boise River to Lake
Lowell, serving as the center for 167,000 irrigated acres in
the region. As you can guess, with that kind of a load, it is a
very significant amount of water that runs in this canal. At
the time the New York Canal was built, it traveled primarily
through farmland, but Idaho, like much of the West, has
experienced immense urban sprawl. This once rural canal now
traverses the fastest growing and most densely populated region
in the state. As a matter of history, the canal was built in
the early 1900's, primarily by Chinese labor, and it was built
with shovels and picks and horse-drawn wagons. And if you saw
it, you would say, how could they possibly have done that?
Well, they did. And it carries a tremendous amount of water.
The canal itself, the New York Canal, is lined, in parts,
with concrete. It needs to be totally lined. But as an
interesting side note, in the 1970s, a gopher caused lots and
lots of damage. Most people can't remember it anymore because
they are all gone, but it flooded the entire southern part of
the city of Boise. The gopher worked in the middle of the night
when nobody was looking, and by the time people got up, water
was a couple of feet deep all over the southern part of the
city of Boise. This situation that exists with the canal going
through an urban area is not unique to Idaho. As homes,
businesses, and schools have been built on once-agricultural
land, many western canals have become urbanized, and the
dangers that their maintenance issues present have increased
due to the potential impact on the life and property that has
been built up around them. This problem is worse, and given the
canal's very proximity, is the reason repairs are so much more
challenging and expensive. Urban canals are more expensive to
repair than those in rural settings, despite the importance to
the region and the risk if a maintenance issue were to become
dire, as one gopher caused it to be at one time. There is
extremely limited financing available to make necessary
improvements to urban canals, like these, with extraordinary
issues.
To address this problem, I introduced Senate bill 2160, the
Urban Canal Modernization Act. This bill would allow urban
canals with extraordinary maintenance issues that would impact
the communities surrounding them to access existing aging
infrastructure funds. As the arid West continues to urbanize,
it is critically important that we can secure both the ability
and safety of delivering water. And this bill will help them to
accomplish both.
I am glad we are here to discuss this and other legislation
concerning water infrastructure--issues which are, as we all
know, of ever-increasing concern and critical to our way of
life in the West. Responsible water management is essential for
ag production, fire prevention, natural resource reliance, a
robust and clean baseload power supply, and much more. I know
my Committee colleagues will understand well the importance of
water in the West, and I look forward to working with all of
you on both sides of the aisle today to advance common-sense
critical water infrastructure legislation.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Wyden. Thank you, Senator Risch, and I was trying
to follow, almost ticking off the topics you talked about, and
we have worked together on almost all of them except the gopher
issue.
Senator Risch. Yes.
Senator Wyden. But I want to promise my good faith on that
as well.
Senator King, I know, has to go to a committee that we
can't even mention. So let me let him make an opening
statement. Since I am on that committee, I know what he is
dealing with.
Senator King.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ANGUS S. KING, JR.
U.S. SENATOR FROM MAINE
Senator King. Well, my first question is, did the gopher
get his permits?
Senator Wyden. There we are.
Senator Risch. I am not sure, but we are relatively certain
the gopher did not survive.
Senator King. He would have died of old age before he got
his permits.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I want to just say a few words about S. 1215. It is a bill
called the POWER Our Reservoirs Act, and it basically kills two
birds with one stone. One of the biggest problems with water in
the West is evaporation. We lose billions of gallons of water
to evaporation. And of course, we all know that we are looking
for renewable sources of energy. One of the innovative
solutions the Chairman mentioned is floating solar panels,
which have the effect of generating electricity, but also
significantly cutting evaporation. So this bill is very
straightforward. It asks the Bureau of Reclamation to basically
do a study of potential sites on its reservoirs where this
would be feasible and provide some scientific background. And
then, in two years, to do a pilot program so that we see what
the actual impacts would be.
I think the potential here--all the initial data is that
there is significant potential. We ought to get the data and
prove it, but I commend to the Subcommittee S. 1215, which will
allow us to access the potential of floating PV solar on both
energy production and evaporation. And as I say, the amount of
water, and this--remember we had a hearing about two or three
months ago about this--the amount of evaporation from our
reservoirs is massive, enough water for millions and millions
of homes. So hopefully this is a step that will lead us in the
direction of solving two problems at once.
Senator Wyden. As usual, Senator King, well-stated, and it
very much complements the Finance Committee effort, which my
colleague knows about, where we basically tried to say we were
going to go with a very different approach than just having
some kind of tax extender that lasts a few months. So we will
look forward very closely to hearing more about what you are up
to.
Senator King. Thank you.
Senator Wyden. Senator Hoeven will be next. We will just go
back and forth.
My colleagues, as our witnesses know, Senators have strong
views about a lot of things, but water is up at the top of it.
Senator Hoeven.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN HOEVEN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Chairman Wyden, also, Ranking
Member Risch and also Commissioner Touton, thanks for being
here today and good to see you. I appreciate your work and am
pleased the Committee will once again examine Senate bill 461,
a bill I joined with Senator Cramer in introducing that will
allow North Dakota irrigators to obtain affordable project use
power (PUP) rates as originally intended under the Dakota Water
Resources Act.
Congress passed the DWRA in 2000 in order to preserve North
Dakota's water rights and ensure access to affordable
irrigation for up to 28,000 acres as compensation for lost
farmland permanently flooded by federal water projects--
primarily Lake Sakakawea. Agriculture is the cornerstone of our
state's economy, and our irrigators need a reliable and
affordable water source, particularly in times of drought. Our
bill ensures the Bureau of Reclamation complies with
Congressional intent and works with our farmers to ensure water
resources meet the needs of our communities and economy.
And at this time, I would like to ask for unanimous consent
to insert the following items into the record: a letter signed
by Senator Cramer and myself, which outlines the need for this
bill, and the diverse groups that support it--support letters
from a coalition of North Dakota ag groups, North Dakota
Irrigation Association, North Dakota Association of Rural
Electric Cooperatives, and a 2005 report from the Bureau of
Reclamation noting the eligibility for PUP rates in these
28,000 acres.
Senator Wyden. Without objection, so ordered.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for
including this on the docket for today's business.
[Items of support for S. 461 follow:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Wyden. Very good.
Senator Kelly.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARK KELLY,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA
Senator Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to first
thank Commissioner Touton for testifying today, and I, like
many others, recognize the hard work that the Commissioner has
put in here to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and
the Inflation Reduction Act, and I am particularly appreciative
of your engagement with the stakeholders in Arizona, other
Lower Basin states, and Upper Basin states. It has really made
a big difference, and you have been such a diligent partner
here on issues facing the Colorado River and the crisis we are
facing in the West with water. And I appreciate the work you
are doing to consider the proposals that we have put forward
for Lower Basin states.
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for including S. 739 in
this hearing. I introduced this bill earlier this Congress with
Representatives Schweikert and Stanton in the House, and it is
about pumped hydropower storage, which can store a significant
amount of renewable energy that is generated during the day and
then provide that energy back to the grid when it is needed,
often when demand is the highest, you know, late in the
afternoon. You know, based on projected energy demand, there
will be an increasing need to utilize long-duration hydropower
storage, especially in the West. And this bipartisan and
bicameral bill would help enable the exploration of additional
pumped storage hydropower facilities to the Salt River
Reservoir system in the State of Arizona. Additional hydropower
storage facilities will help lower energy costs for Arizonans
while boosting the state's renewable energy resources. In
addition to lowering energy costs, this bill is also going to
help stabilize our electric grid during peak demand and boost
the supply of affordable and reliable energy in the West.
So Commissioner Touton, I appreciate your testimony today
in support of the bill, and I look forward to working with you
and my colleagues to further this and other important
legislation.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Wyden. Thank you, Senator Kelly.
Senator Cortez Masto.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Ranking
Member, and I, too, want to echo comments toward Commissioner
Touton--thank you. Most people don't see the work that she does
with all of the states, particularly those on the Colorado
River, in a bipartisan way. She understands the water so well,
but her work is crucial for us coming together to address the
drought and all work together and come to an agreement on how
we want to administer that water. So thank you. It couldn't be
done without you, and I really appreciate the work that you are
doing.
I also appreciate, Mr. Chairman, your willingness to bring
back the bill that I had introduced previously in this
Committee, which is S. 1118. It is the Open Access
Evapotranspiration Data Act. It really provides an innovative
tool that water users can utilize to address the unprecedented
drought that Nevada and the entire West is facing. In order to
address this crisis, we must first know how much water is
available and how much water is being used or consumed in a
water system. And this is where evapotranspiration--or ET--
comes in. It is a measurement of water that is transferred from
the land to the atmosphere, and often represents the largest
share of water consumption in arid environments. My bill
enhances our understanding of ET data by implementing the Open
ET Data Program at the U.S. Geological Survey. This program
will use the best available science and publicly available data
from satellites and weather stations to provide estimates of
ET. ET Data can help measure the health of water, water supply,
and its use and scarcity in different ecosystems, like forests
and agricultural lands.
This is such an important issue for all the users of the
land to utilize. The data would support water conservation and
management efforts of water utilities and farmers and ranchers,
and this program is supported by my bill to help ensure such
data is available. Let me give you a perfect example from
somebody in my home state--Marty Plaskett, the operator of the
Diamond Valley Hay Company from Diamond Valley, Nevada, who has
said this about the program: ``Improved water management,
efficiency, and conservation are the foundation of
sustainability in modern agriculture. Open ET is another tool
now available to agriculture producers using the best available
science to make the most crop per drop. Irrigation scheduling
requires many inputs and forecasts to accurately supply crop
water needs without over- or under-irrigating. Access to all
available tools necessary to make calculated decisions
regarding crop water use is more crucial than ever to remain
productive, profitable, and respectful to the water resource.''
That is from one of many I know, that I have worked with, who
understand that more data is going to help us to really address
water and drought and the efficient use of water in our
communities. And that is true for so many in our agriculture
communities as well.
So I look forward to working with my colleagues on this
Committee to move this bill forward. And thank you again.
Senator Wyden. I think it is a very appealing concept
because, as I understand it, and I know we are going to talk
all about this, what you are doing is empowering farmers to
have these choices, not telling farmers what to do.
Senator Cortez Masto. Correct. We are getting them more
tools, more data and information that they can have and use.
Senator Wyden. Got it. Okay.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
Senator Wyden. Glad to have Senator Padilla, our western
neighbor, and he has been part of the group that is also
talking about ways in which we can all work together--the
committees and subcommittees, the jurisdictions.
So Senator, welcome. I know you have legislation you would
like to talk about, and why don't you please proceed?
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ALEX PADILLA,
U.S. SENATOR FROM CALIFORNIA
Senator Padilla. Well, thank you, Chairman Wyden and
Ranking Member Risch, for the opportunity to speak to you today
about S. 2166, the Voluntary Agricultural Land Repurposing Act,
and for holding this hearing on western water legislation.
Before I get into the act, let me just join the chorus of
Senator Kelly and Senator Cortez Masto--consider this the
trifecta in thanking and praising the work of Commissioner
Touton for all she has done for years now, not just the last
couple of months, but for some time now to keep us together on
the Colorado River. And now the harder work begins as you look
at what the framework and the agreements will be from 2027 and
beyond.
But to the issue before us today, as I am proud to remind
all of my colleagues, California is the number one agricultural
state in the country, and does more than its part to feed the
nation. But it is getting harder and harder, as California and
much of the West continue to face extreme weather whiplash. We
have endured through severe drought that has forced farmers to
fallow productive land. Drought that has also decimated our
environment and wildlife, only to now suffer through recent
winter storms that flooded our orchards and forced the
evacuation of entire communities. But every year, Californians
figure out how to weather the latest storm or drought so that
the rest of the country can continue to eat. But if this is
going to continue, we will need bold action to protect
California's and the West's, rural economies, our agricultural
economies, and our communities' access to drinking water and
our environment.
So I am glad to see Commissioner Touton here with us today.
In April, the Commissioner was in Southern California when we
together announced over $300 million in federal funding from
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen infrastructure
and improve water delivery canals in California, which, by the
way, are a prime candidate for what Senator King was talking
about--solar panels over canals generate renewable energy and
reduce the evaporation. It is a win-win. But even with that
announcement and that historic funding and how it will bolster
our state's infrastructure, it is clear that a historic long-
term megadrought and increasing water scarcity throughout the
West is our reality and demands more widespread changes to
secure our water supply. Every day we see the threats of water
scarcity in the Colorado River Basin's water shortage, the
Great Salt Lake's decline to record low levels, and
California's subsidence due to groundwater overdraft in the
Central Valley. Something has got to change.
Now, one tool for the toolbox, but an important tool to
bolster drought resilience, is to work with our farmers on a
voluntary basis--I repeat, on a voluntary basis--to retire some
agricultural lands, particularly where existing productivity is
marginal or on lands where the opportunity to repurpose can
provide other environmental or economic benefits to the
surrounding communities or the region. In fact, in California,
it is estimated that at least 750,000, or maybe as many as one
million acres of farmland will need to come out of production
due to water scarcity. Think about that. A million acres being
pulled out of agricultural production due to water scarcity.
Now, if this land transition is not proactively managed, it
could result in increased dust, pests, and weeds, and
widespread economic and health impacts in those surrounding
communities.
And so, my Voluntary Agricultural Land Repurposing Act will
provide an important tool for states and communities to support
the actions already underway to reduce water use in the West
and work hand-in-hand with farmers to transition certain
agricultural lands to other uses. Specifically, my bill would
authorize funding for states who choose to pilot and implement
their own multi-benefit land repurposing programs. Eligible
state-run programs must be basin-scale--so we are talking about
thinking big here, reduce consumptive water use, and repurpose
irrigated agricultural land for at least ten years. So we are
not talking about a temporary retirement of agricultural land--
minimum of ten years. And I can't emphasize enough that this
would be completely voluntary, as you highlighted, Mr.
Chairman. This would be voluntary for states who choose to
participate or they can choose not to.
So again, I believe this is one of many tools that we need
to give the Bureau of Reclamation to manage sustained drought
so that we have enough water to maintain our agricultural
economies for years to come. Thank you again, Mr. Chair and
Ranking Member Risch, for allowing me to testify. I look
forward to working with you, your staff, this Committee, and
stakeholders to move this bill through Committee and into law.
Senator Wyden. Thank you, Senator Padilla, and I was struck
listening to your remarks that had a little bit of a flavor of
some of the things we westerners--Senator Daines, Senator
Risch, and I--know when we talk about the forests. We all talk
about multiple use. That is kind of our bedrock principle. And
the first thing out of the box you mentioned, in addition to
being voluntary, is multiple benefits. So we thank you.
We are going to try to figure out what the voting schedule
is and we will go next to Senator Daines.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Daines. Chairman Wyden, thank you, as well as
Ranking Member Risch, for holding today's hearing. I also want
to thank you for your support and leadership on our bipartisan
Community and Hydropower Improvement Act.
Today, we have the opportunity to hear testimony in support
for Senate bill 1521, the Community and Hydropower Improvement
Act. This bill is the largest bipartisan hydropower permitting
reform bill in two decades. And it has support across the
political spectrum and from environmental as well as industry
leaders. I want to thank Senator Cantwell, Chairman Wyden, and
Ranking Member Risch, for joining me on this important effort.
There are few energy or permitting bills that have the breadth
of support from both sides of the aisle like this bill does.
Likewise, the bill has support from a large group of local and
national groups.
Chairman Wyden, I would like to ask unanimous consent to
have the following quotes and letters of support included in
the record, which are a letter from 25 leading hydropower
producers, a letter from 15 members of the Uncommon Dialogue
Group, which includes the National Hydropower Association,
American Rivers, the National Congress of American Indians,
three former FERC Chairmen and two former FERC Commissioners,
Clear Path Action, Northwestern Energy, the Permitting
Institute, National Rural Electric Co-ops, Montana Rural
Electric Co-ops, Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, Citizens
for Responsible Energy Solutions, and over a dozen other
letters and quotes.
Senator Wyden. Without objection, so ordered.
[Letters and quotes of support for S. 1521 follow:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Daines. The support from the left, from the right,
and the center is remarkable and underscores the need to get
this bill done. The Community and Hydropower Improvement Act
streamlines permitting and licensing, as well as increases
tribal engagement. The bill creates an expedited licensing
process for powering non-powered dams and building closed-loop
pumped storage. It limits the scope of environmental reviews
and mitigation to real, on-the-ground and ongoing efforts. It
increases the tribal engagement by including tribes in the
licensing and conditioning process, and it promotes healthy
habitats through fish passage and downstream improvements.
Let's be clear--this bill is a compromise, with very
diverse stakeholder engagement throughout the process. I
encourage my colleagues and stakeholders to look at this bill
as a whole. In order to make this meaningful change, all sides
had to come together. They must come together, negotiate a
deal, and move forward as one. And that is what the Community
and Hydropower Improvement Act does. Hydropower is critical to
helping meet our country's energy needs. It is safe, reliable,
affordable, and provides good-paying jobs. With hydropower
producing about one-third of all renewable energy and over six
percent of all electricity in the United States, this
bipartisan bill must be included in any permitting reform
discussion.
Since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission isn't here
to give oral testimony, I would like to highlight provisions
from the Chairman's written testimony. Chairman Phillips states
in his testimony that he commends the bipartisan effort, that
he specifically supports the bill's attention to promoting
hydropower at non-powered dams, and ensuring tribes have
greater authority on tribal land. And finally, that his staff
is ready to address and clarify the other important provisions
in this bill. I want to thank Chairman Phillips and his staff
for all the work he has done, and look forward to working with
him on this bill moving forward. I do encourage my colleagues
to support this bill and look forward to having it on the next
legislative markup.
Briefly, before I finish, Mr. Chairman, one quick local
issue that is very urgent that we have in Montana. Commissioner
Touton, thank you for being here today, and you know what this
issue is, as we chatted on the phone. It is about the levels on
Flathead Lake. As you know, Governor Gianforte, Congressman
Zinke, and I have been working to find a solution on the
falling water levels at Flathead Lake. I know that you and I
have had calls on this issue. My staff has been in close
communication with yours throughout the last few weeks. This is
a big deal for Montanans--a major concern--especially in the
northwestern portion of our state. While much of Montana is
experiencing better than average snowpack and rainfall, I think
this is part of the--some of the misperceptions, even back
home. A lot of Montana has looked like Ireland this spring. We
have had higher than average snowpacks, better than average
spring and early summer rains, but up in the northwestern part
of our state, where Flathead Lake is, we are suffering a
drought. And so that is why some folks in parts of our state
don't quite fully appreciate what is going on in the Flathead,
where they have not been getting the normal snowpacks and then
they had higher temperatures in the spring and the snowmelt was
faster than expected. It is a pocket of drought.
But by the way, this lake is important for agriculture,
recreation, and the local economy. It is extremely important we
find a lasting solution for this issue. I think we need a more
dynamic arrangement. BOR, they make a forecast, they start
seeing real-time data coming out in terms of snowpacks,
rainfall, and snowmelt, to adjust the forecasts. I encourage
you to keep working with our Governor back home in Montana and
local officials and stand ready to help in any way needed.
Thank you, Commissioner.
Senator Wyden. Thank you, Senator Daines. And I am pleased
to be an original sponsor of your legislation.
Senator Daines. Thank you.
Senator Wyden. Ms. Touton, thank you very much for your
patience. You can tell that this is something members feel very
strongly about, so I am going to pledge that at the end of
Senator Lee's opening statement, we are going to let you
testify. Can you believe it?
Senator Lee.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE LEE,
U.S. SENATOR FROM UTAH
Senator Lee. Thank you so much, Chairman Wyden and Ranking
Member Risch. Thank you also, Commissioner Touton, for being
here.
Great Salt Lake is the cornerstone of Northern Utah, and it
is absolutely a central part of our state in every way. But we
have been in a historic drought cycle, a really nasty one. As a
result of that, the lake finds itself in a really dire crisis.
It is an ecological crisis with really significant
ramifications for the State of Utah and really for the entire
western United States. Now, fortunately, heavy snowfall this
past winter has provided some respite to that, but for all we
know, that is a respite that could prove temporary, and we
can't assume that the heavy snowfall from this year will
necessarily continue. And in spite of the heavy snowfall that
we have had this year and the runoff from it, the water levels
remain really, really low, which brings me to this chart.
[The chart referred to follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T5569.043
Senator Lee. This shows the water level, the geographic
footprint of the Great Salt Lake back in 1986. It was a fun
year, Summer of 1986. I was just finishing the ninth grade. You
know, I think Wham was big, parachute pants and all that stuff,
but just as our clothing looked different then, and our music
sounded a little bit different then, the Great Salt Lake looked
different then. It was in much better shape. It occupied a much
bigger footprint. Fast forward to today--this yellow area over
here represents area that was covered by water, the Great Salt
Lake back in 1986, and today, is not. It's just dry land. Then
you have this feature right here, Antelope Island. It is no
longer even anything close to an island because, as you can
see, it stands out. It's just a mountain on what is already an
area of dry land. Now, it's a state park. I don't think the
state has moved yet to rename it from Antelope Island State
Park to just Antelope Mountain State Park. That would be kind
of weird. But it goes to show what this sort of thing is doing
to our state.
These declining water levels really threaten our economy,
and they can have a permanent impact on all sorts of things,
including brine shrimp viability and air quality and mineral
production, just to name a few. It is important to note that
the Great Salt Lake does not just present a problem for Utah
when it runs low like this. The impact of this goes far beyond
our state. This is a regional concern, one that impacts Idaho,
Nevada, Wyoming, and really most of the rest of the western
United States. Addressing the issue is going to require
careful, coordinated, and collaborative responses by local,
state, and federal partners. It is critical that state and
federal and all other stakeholders have the tools that are
needed to take on this monumental task of saving this ailing
lake.
My bill, the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act, is one of the
tools in the toolbox--one of the tools that will help us
address the crisis currently plaguing the Great Salt Lake. The
bill amends the Central Utah Project Completion Act, known as
CUPCA, to allow unused budget authority originally slated for
other CUPCA project features to be used specifically for
conservation measures for the Great Salt Lake. The bill would
give the Secretary of the Interior needed flexibility to expend
unallocated budget authority for water conservation projects
throughout the entire Great Salt Lake Basin. Funding available
under CUPCA budget authority can be used for projects that
encourage water conservation, reduce water curtailments and
depletion of water quality and quantity. Currently, it's
estimated that upwards of $200 million in CUPCA budget
authority remains unexpended and could be of use in Great Salt
Lake water conservation.
Under this program, parties interested in potentially
qualifying projects may submit proposals that must include
conservation goals, water management improvement compared to
other proposals, a five-year project schedule, and performance
metrics to help us evaluate the success of the project. The
bill expends no new federal funding. It simply expands
eligibility for yet unexpended budget authority that has
already been granted to the state. So in the long-run, this
flexibility is going to be something that will help to preserve
the ecological and economic integrity of the lake and shield
Utah and the West from some of the economic and public health
costs of an ecological disaster. The bill has received letters
of support from numerous stakeholders, including the Weber
Basin Water Conservancy District, the Jordan Valley Water
Conservancy District, the Central Utah Water Conservancy
District, the Colorado River Authority of Utah, the Nature
Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and Friends of the Great Salt
Lake. I ask unanimous consent that these letters, along with a
written statement of support from Gene Shawcroft, the General
Manager of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, be
entered into the record.
Senator Wyden. Without objection.
I would say to my colleague--and those are impressive
endorsements. I would say to my colleague--I will work with
him--if there is any way you could wrap up in terms of your
opening statement, I would like to get to Senator Risch, for
his----
Senator Lee. I'm finished. Thank you very much.
Senator Wyden. Great, great. Okay.
So the record is clear, please note that Senator Lee's
letters of support are to be entered into the record at this
point.
[Letters of support for S. 1955 follow:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Wyden. We will go to Senator Risch. Colleagues,
here is what I have just been told from the floor, and we can
send the message hither and yon. We may have to leave here
somewhere shortly after 3:30 and then we will be into stacked
votes. So colleagues who have questions--I am going to start
with Senator Risch--ought to come to the Committee dais as soon
as possible.
Senator Risch.
Senator Risch. Commissioner, I assume you are familiar with
the situation regarding the New York Canal in Boise. You have
heard about that prior to this hearing, I assume?
Ms. Touton. Good afternoon, Senator. I was just in Boise
and have seen the New York Canal several times, but just as
recently as May, yes.
Senator Risch. And it didn't have any gopher holes in it?
Ms. Touton. No, not at this point.
Senator Risch. You would know if it did.
Ms. Touton. Yes, we would.
Senator Risch. If we have got concrete lining, that's not a
problem, but without the concrete lining, any kind of
disruption is a real problem. How common is that situation
around the West where you have--well, you saw, that was a
significant canal. The size of it is probably as big as you
see, is that a fair statement?
Ms. Touton. Yes, and it's in the middle of neighborhoods
and communities.
Senator Risch. It really is.
How common of an occurrence is this around the West?
Ms. Touton. We have 800 miles of urbanized canals, not only
in Boise, but certainly Klamath Falls. The canal portions of
that is, as well, urbanized in Nevada. So we have these
communities that have grown up around our existing
infrastructure.
Senator Risch. And you know, when the canal is not lined,
there is a real risk, for obvious reasons, if it's just a dirt
or even rock siding canal, you would agree with me that that
concrete lining is imperative, particularly in an area that is
urbanized, would you agree with that?
Ms. Touton. It allows for more stability of the system,
yes.
Senator Risch. So I know you have been asked about this
other times. Do you have any--have you seen the bill that we
have got to try to provide funding for that?
Ms. Touton. Yes.
Senator Risch. Can I get your thoughts on that?
Ms. Touton. Yes, Senator. We support the intent of the
legislation and we look forward to working with you on this
bill. It's not just for Idaho, but it's for the entire western
states.
Senator Risch. It is, yes. We appreciate that.
And I am assuming you would be able to triage the various
canals as to which ones are the cause--that are in jeopardy the
most. We would certainly rely on your expertise to do that,
but----
Ms. Touton. We can and we have, Senator.
Senator Risch. That's good. Thank you.
If you already have, where are most of the problems, or is
it scattered about? Is there anything you can tell me about
what you have triaged? Is that public? I assume that is
public--the triaging--or is it?
Ms. Touton. It has been, and when we announced the $585
million in April for extraordinary maintenance, it was to
target these types of projects. The New York Canal has been a
recipient of that funding previously.
Senator Risch. I am aware of that.
Ms. Touton. And we are looking forward to continuing to
work through this and rebuilding our infrastructure across the
West with the funding provided by Congress.
Senator Risch. All right. Well, thank you. Thank you very
much. I appreciate your work on that, and I'm glad you
appreciate the urgency of it.
Let me touch briefly on the relicensing. I'm assuming you
agree that these relicensing things that go on for decades
isn't a good way to do business. Is that a fair statement?
Ms. Touton. Well, we--I am in the business of federal
hydropower, Senator, but regarding the relicensing of non-
federal hydropower, we have the FERC statement for the record.
Senator Risch. Have you got any ideas about how to move
that along more rapidly?
Ms. Touton. Perhaps we could follow up.
Senator Risch. Okay, thank you.
With that, I will yield to you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Wyden. I thank my colleague.
So here is where we are. We probably have 25 minutes or so.
Ms. Touton has not even gotten to make her opening statement so
we could take care of the members. We will have your opening
statement, then I will have questions. It sounds like my
colleague has returned, and I just put all colleagues on notice
that we are going to go into this string of votes, probably in
another 20 minutes or thereabouts.
The Honorable Camille Touton.
STATEMENT OF HON. CAMILLE C. TOUTON, COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF
RECLAMATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Ms. Touton. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Chairman, Ranking Member Risch, Senator
Hoeven, and members of the Subcommittee. My name is Camille
Calimlim Touton, and I am the Commissioner of the Bureau of
Reclamation within the Department of the Interior. It is good
to be here today to talk about Reclamation's actions and to
provide our views on the legislation.
As many of you noted already, Reclamation's dams,
reservoirs, water conveyance systems, and power generation
facilities serve as the water and power infrastructure backbone
of the American West. Over the last decade, the West has
experienced excessive and compounding years of dry hydrology
interspersed by short periods of high precipitation and extreme
weather events. The issues we face today are unprecedented in
the 121-year history of this organization. But we take this
challenge head-on as the Biden-Harris Administration is
investing in our nation's water infrastructure to improve
drought resiliency and water security. Through funding provided
by Congress to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the
Inflation Reduction Act, Reclamation has made significant
progress. And as you can see in the pictures behind me, we are
putting that funding to work.
In the year and a half since Reclamation has been charged
with implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, our
focus has been on using historic investments in water
infrastructure to accelerate our proven and effective programs.
And we are proud of the work of our Reclamation staff and proud
of the strength of our partnerships. We have allocated $2.75
billion of funding to 370 projects across 12 program areas in
all 17 western states, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto
Rico. And to help illustrate this breadth of work, earlier this
month, the Department unveiled a new interactive map to track
the over $7.3 billion invested across Interior. This first-of-
its-kind tool allows users to explore projects and highlights
the immense investments made across the country in the first 18
months of implementation.
This funding has resulted in significant progress for
existing programs, ensuring earlier completion of work that has
been under construction for decades, and reinvestment in
facilities constructed more than a century ago. This includes
significant investments in increased water storage capacity and
conveyance projects in California, Washington, Idaho, Colorado,
and Utah to deliver reliable and safe drinking water to build
resiliency for communities most impacted by drought. We have
made consistent progress over the last two years and we are not
done yet. The funding from the Inflation Reduction Act includes
significant resources for Reclamation to prepare for a changing
West by developing and implementing short- and long-term
solutions to address and mitigate drought with a particular
focus in the Colorado River Basin, and we are grateful for the
support and the opportunity to improve our nation's water
infrastructure and benefit the American public for the next
generation. We look forward to continuing our work with tribes,
states, irrigation districts, and the Subcommittee to ensure
these investments are provided in an effective and efficient
way while also taking care to be responsible stewards of
taxpayer funds.
The legislation being considered today not only seeks to
add to these investments, but addresses the challenges we
currently face and those that we will face in the future.
Reclamation appreciates the work of all the bills before us
today, and we stand ready to work with the Subcommittee and all
sponsors on these bills moving forward. It seeks to address
drought in the West by improving water access and efficiencies
for agriculture and conservation, including Chair Wyden's S.
2102. Senator Feinstein's Rain Act, S. 2202, would provide
Reclamation authority to make additional use of our
infrastructure to provide more benefits to the public.
Reclamation supports the intent of these bills and would like
to work with the Subcommittee to address potential
implementation.
The bills address our water conveyance infrastructure,
including Ranking Member Risch's S. 2160, which seeks to
address additional risk for canals in urbanized areas by
reducing repayment burdens. We understand the intent of the
legislation, especially as it relates to the New York Canal in
Boise, which I was able to visit this spring. And Senator
Feinstein's S. 2161, which would address reductions in
conveyance capacity due to subsidence and other factors, which
have impacted the Central Valley Project in California.
Several pieces of legislation, as mentioned by their
sponsors, focus on power, whether it's encouraging new pumped
storage, as in Senator Kelly's S. 739, to making project power
available as part of Senator Cramer's S. 461, and Senator
Hoeven, or to allow for pilot projects to deploy solar panels
on reservoirs as part of Senator King's S. 1215. As a threshold
matter, Reclamation supports the goal of providing clean energy
to Americans, especially as the second largest producer of
hydropower.
Legislation also includes Ranking Member Barrasso's S.
1662, allowing for the title transfer of the Pilot Butte Power
Plant in Wyoming. Reclamation is proud of its efforts to
transfer title where it provides mutual benefits. And last
week, I was able to sign our ninth title transfer since 2021
with the Hayden Lake Irrigation District in Idaho.
Several pieces of legislation look to build on drought
resiliencies, such as Senator Feinstein's STREAM Act, which
increases funding for water recycling, establishes a revised
water storage grant program, and expands desalination projects.
Senator Padilla's S. 2166 would assist communities to prepare
for a changing climate. And we would like to continue to work
with the sponsor of these bills to ensure that authorities
within this bill can be integrated with existing laws to
achieve intended goals.
Finally, legislation today includes ecosystem needs,
including Senator Hickenlooper's S. 2247, for the necessary
reauthorization of the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin
Endangered Fish Recovery Programs, as well as Chair Wyden's S.
2169, for watershed pilot projects and S. 482, to allow for
restoration activities in the Klamath Basin. The Department
recognizes the bills before the Committee today and seeks to
address the impacts from the ongoing drought, building more
resilient infrastructure and ecosystems, and appreciates the
work of all bill sponsors.
I look forward to discussing this legislation in more
detail and continuing the work with the Committee and bill
sponsors on potential technical edits as they move forward.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Touton follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Wyden. Ms. Touton, thank you very much, and I would
say that colleagues, this has certainly--and Senator Risch and
I have been through a lot of them--certainly been a challenging
logistics afternoon because so many senators have been
interested. So we are going to start the vote challenge here in
another 15 or 20 minutes, so I think if the three of us who are
here who have not had a chance to either ask questions or make
a statement, can take five minutes or so, that would be good.
Thank you very much for your help. You know, I am struck
listening to your comments that they are very much in line with
what the Senators are talking about. The Senators repeatedly
have come back to--you know, their bills are not forcing
farmers, for example, to do something. It's not the Federal
Government pushing people around in small, rural towns in the
West. It's coming up with innovative approaches, often using
technology, to get farmers in rural communities more choices.
So it's kind of within that context I start my five minutes
here.
Okay. One of my bills, the Water for Conservation and
Farming Act, involves more resources for a number of programs--
WaterSMART, the Cooperative Watershed Management Program, the
fisheries restoration effort. Why, in your view, are these
kinds of programs useful in fighting drought and western water
challenges?
Ms. Touton. Your legislation provides us with a suite of
tools. Not all tools fit in every single basin. One example of
that is WaterSMART, as you have mentioned, Senator, but also
the Basin Studies provision, which provides us an ability to
work with stakeholders on what are the challenges that that
basin is seeing, not just today, but into the future.
Senator Wyden. So the second proposal that I am offering,
the Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement Act, ensures that
Reclamation has the authorities it needs so that we can deal
with not just agriculture, but also the endangered fish, and we
are going to have challenges with recreation, a whole host of
issues in the basin. Are these authorities going to put you in
a position to respond to the future needs from ongoing drought
and what we are trying to do in the basin? We call it, really,
reconnecting the basin. Will that address your concern there?
Ms. Touton. Yes, Senator, it will also provide certainty to
our water users.
Senator Wyden. Okay. And the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill
provides substantial sums for reclamation of western water. It
addresses the needs of a host of our communities, and I would
be interested in your thoughts on how this is going to help in
Oregon, in the basin, and elsewhere.
Ms. Touton. We are really proud of our work in deploying
the resources provided by Congress to the entire 17 western
states in which we operate. Whether that includes WaterSMART
grants for the North Unit into Deschutes, certainly assistance
in the Klamath project, but we are not just stopping there. We
are looking at the Central Valley Project and certainly the
Colorado River. So as we are looking at tools of new storage,
more efficiencies, groundwater recharge, and water recycling,
this is an all-of-the-above approach for us, and Congress has
provided us the resources to do so.
Senator Wyden. We also sought to give Reclamation the
authorities needed to deal with several of the dams, as you
know. And we would like to work with you on that as well.
Ms. Touton. Happy to do so.
Senator Wyden. Okay. I think I am going to be able to give
up some of my time so we can get our colleagues in. That will
allow Senator Hoeven and Senator Cantwell to make their remarks
at some point.
Ms. Touton, I am going to have to get out and start my
initial voting. Senator Hickenlooper will be back to wrap up,
as he has cast the first vote, and don't interpret this as some
kind of disinterest. We are so lucky, I mean, I thought it was
going to be a bouquet tossing contest because one Senator after
another kept saying, Ms. Touton, you've done this well, you've
done that well. So we appreciate your professionalism, and
Senator Hoeven and then Senator Cantwell.
Senator Hoeven.
Senator Hoeven. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. We do appreciate you,
Commissioner Touton, and I appreciate you coming to my state.
As we discussed during your hearing in April, Biota Water
Treatment Facilities are required to comply with the Boundary
Waters Treaty as a federal responsibility under Section 1 of
the Dakota Water Resources Act. However, Reclamation continues
to believe that Biota treatment costs continue to count against
the DWRA's Section 7 Water Supply Program, which diverts
authorized funding for state projects to meet a federal
responsibility. Do you continue to agree that costs related to
Boundary Waters Treaty compliance is a federal responsibility?
Ms. Touton. I was glad to be able to see that treatment
plant with you last year.
Senator Hoeven. Right.
Ms. Touton. And we have determined that it is a non-
reimbursable federal cost.
Senator Hoeven. Will you work with us on a solution to
ensure that the state is not further injured for covering the
cost of this federal responsibility? So that's--you're telling
me that we will get that squared away?
Ms. Touton. I am happy to continue to work with you on
that, Senator.
Senator Hoeven. Yes. Thank you, Commissioner, I appreciate
that.
North Dakota, along with the tribal nations, including the
Three Affiliated Tribes, Standing Rock, Spirit Lake, and Turtle
Mountain, have expressed interest in utilizing the DWRA's Water
Supply program to construct new projects. Also, as you are
aware, this is also critical to funding the Eastern North
Dakota Alternate Water Supply Project (ENDAWS), which we have
talked about, and will require an increase in authorization for
Section 7 of the State and Tribal Water Supply Program. Will
you commit to working with North Dakota and the tribes on
reauthorizing the Dakota Water Resources Act to ensure these
resources are available?
Ms. Touton. One of our proudest successes is our
investments in the rural water projects, and I look forward to
continuing to work with you to complete these projects.
Senator Hoeven. Thanks, Commissioner.
And then, my other question, as you know, Congress has
provided lower power rates for irrigation, known as project use
power (PUP) rates to compensate farmers for the loss of lands
flooded by the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin federal project. We
have one of the main dams there, which is in Garrison, and of
course, that created Lake Sakakawea. Do you agree that the
project use power for irrigation has been a successful tool to
help mitigate the impacts of federal water control projects on
local users, even for non-federally developed irrigation
projects?
Ms. Touton. Yes, and should Congress enact this
legislation, we will implement it.
Senator Hoeven. So you will continue to work with us to
advance this bill so that North Dakota farmers and our
communities are made whole?
Ms. Touton. Yes.
Senator Hoeven. Again, thanks, Commissioner, appreciate it
very much.
Ms. Touton. Good to see you.
Senator Hoeven. Thanks for being here.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Wyden. I thank my colleague from North Dakota.
And having enjoyed being in North Dakota with you, I know
these water issues are hugely important. I look forward to
working with you.
Senator Hoeven. Absolutely.
Senator Wyden. Senator Cantwell.
Senator Cantwell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you
for holding this hearing. To you and Ranking Member Risch and
Senator Daines, all supporters of a bill that is on this
agenda, the Hydro Improvement Act, I appreciate your support on
that. It has good bipartisan support and it's a tribute to the
coalition that includes the hydropower industry, environmental
communities, and tribal communities. And I believe Senator
Daines put out some of our letters of support already for the
record, but I would like to make sure that people understand
the National Hydro Association, the National Congress of
American Indians, all the FERC--well, many of the FERC
Commissioners, both Republicans and Democrats, American Rivers,
and Seattle City Light. So I know that is on our agenda for
today.
But with Commissioner Touton here, thank you so much for
all your work. I am also throwing a bouquet because I thank you
for your leadership in tackling very difficult issues on water,
particularly in the West, and we also have legislation before
us today that covers other issues. One is the aquifer storage
issue, which I wanted to--I know you know a lot about this. We
believe that aquifer protections, particularly in the West,
could provide some drought resiliency to us. And funding this
program should provide state and local communities with
additional tools that I think would be cost effective. I have
even heard some of our fish hatcheries talk about it as an
extra tool for cooling water in particular areas.
So what additional activities would the Bureau be able to
undertake with a higher aquifer funding program, and are there
ways to expand the recharge storage recovery plan throughout
the West?
Ms. Touton. Our President's budget request includes $5
million for this program. And certainly, there is a demand
there that would exceed that. And so, should we be given more
resources, we would deploy that for places like the Odessa
Subarea aquifer and the Yakima Basin.
Senator Cantwell. Thank you.
Do you think that, as we come to terms now with what--even
on the front page of the paper today--is another El Nino
prediction for us in the Northwest. I just don't know how to
describe to people that our storage system has been snowpack,
but if we are not going to have snowpack, and it's just going
to be liquid, then having some other place to store it, like in
aquifers, would be a really good strategy.
So what do you think if we said we were going to make, I
mean, what do you think $5 million is making a dent in? Like,
less than one percent of our opportunity, or how would you
characterize our opportunity, if America really grasped what
aquifers could do for us?
Ms. Touton. If I could just give an example. Certainly, in
your home state, Yakima has a 77 percent water allocation this
year because of the hydrology because the Northwest wasn't as
hit with the atmospheric rivers. Because of investments in
efficiencies--in groundwater and surface water management, as
well as in ecosystem--they are being able to weather the storm.
And so, it really is a tool in a tool box of being able to use
groundwater recharge as well as water efficiencies to get
through these cyclical swings in hydrology.
Senator Cantwell. So we could easily use like 25 times this
investment. I am saying from a scientific perspective of giving
people tools during what we know are going to be warmer and
wetter conditions.
Ms. Touton. We will use the tools given to us, absolutely.
Senator Cantwell. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Hickenlooper [presiding]. It seems like it's me.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Well, Commissioner, great to have you back with us and to
see you again, and I appreciate all your hard work and
dedication on our behalf, and by that I mean not just the
western Senators and the western Governors, but I mean,
everyone in this country is rethinking their relationship with
water and where it comes from and how it's gathered and how
it's stored, largely because of what you and we all have been
doing with the Colorado River and with all the western issues.
And I am sure that you remember that we are still working--my
son Jack hasn't spoken a word yet, but every time I see him, I
say, ``Oh,'' and that is to get him to that point where his
first word will be ``Ogallala,'' just because it's one of the
largest underground reservoirs that we have ever seen.
So thanks for being here. I wanted to thank you
specifically for the bill that I am co-leading with Senator
Romney of Utah, the legislation to reauthorize the Bureau of
Reclamation's role in two programs that really are delivering
big results for fish and for water users and for habitat in the
Upper Colorado Basin. And as you know well, for over three
decades, a coalition of tribes, all levels of government, water
users, stakeholders, have worked to try to recover four
endangered and threatened fish species in the Upper Colorado
and the San Juan River Basins. In return for efforts to help
the fish, like restoring habitat and stocking fish, the
programs have enabled Upper Basin water users to secure
Endangered Species Act compliance for over 2,500 different
water projects using well over three and a half million acre-
feet every year. This, obviously, is a big deal for the Upper
Basin, especially considering that, you know, every Bureau of
Reclamation project upstream of Lake Powell relies on these
programs for ESA compliance. Cities, ski areas, industrial and
agricultural users, all rely on these recovery programs, and
these programs work. They make a huge difference. So it's not
surprising they have such broad support, critical to the
economies and our native fish. And I certainly look forward to
advancing this bill to make sure they get the resources they
need.
So my question then is, why are these recovery programs
important for the Upper Basin's water management, first, and
then, why is it so crucial for Congress to pass a long-term
extension with adequate levels of funding to implement these
recovery programs?
Ms. Touton. Senator, I think you said it best already.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Touton. That this program provides our ability to meet
our mission with compliance to 2,500 projects, but it's also a
successful program in bringing back the species. We were able
to downlist the humpback chub as part of this. And so, it's not
just good for meeting our mission and delivering water and
producing hydropower, but we are also being able to bring back
these species.
Senator Hickenlooper. Yes. I mean, today the humpback chub,
tomorrow the----
Ms. Touton. Razorback sucker.
Senator Hickenlooper [continuing]. Razorback sucker.
[Laughter.]
Senator Hickenlooper. You beat me to it.
Back in April, when we met in southeastern Colorado to
break ground on the Arkansas Valley Conduit, which is a major
water infrastructure project that a lot of people in the rest
of the country haven't heard of, but it's going to deliver
clean water to 50,000 Coloradans who really haven't had a
consistent, reliable source of clean water. We worked with you
on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to make sure we
move this project along, recognizing it has been six decades
since the conduit was first authorized. When we were first on
the ground together in the spring, I asked you to help shorten
the timeline because it already had been so long, but to really
try to get this done. And maybe you could just give us a
general update. I know that you don't have specifics, but I
think a general update is useful just because it's a way of
demonstrating what I already know and appreciate, which is how
much effort you and your team have put into this. And it's one
of those little projects. It is never going to be in the New
York Times, but it is a big deal for those 50,000 Coloradans.
Ms. Touton. We are incredibly proud of our work on the
Arkansas Valley Conduit. And thank you, Senator, for your
support of Reclamation with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
When we were together in April, it was $60 million for that
program to start and finish mostly Boone Reach 1. When we talk
about generational investments, this is one of them, dedicated
by President Kennedy 60 years ago, and here we are with a path
forward, not just for Reach 1, but for the entire project. And
so stay tuned, Senator, because we are hoping to be able to
make more investments on the Arkansas Valley Conduit, along
with other projects like this in the West.
Senator Hickenlooper. Great. Well, we appreciate it. For
too long a time it has been ignored, not just the conduit, but
so many of these smaller projects.
Last question, and the nice thing about sitting in as the
Chair is you get, you know, you get to take a couple extra
minutes if you need it.
Ms. Touton. Sure.
Senator Hickenlooper. Who says that power doesn't have its
privileges?
Congress provided $4 billion in funding for drought in the
Colorado River Basin through the IRA, Inflation Reduction Act,
including long-term, durable water conservation solutions. So
how does the work that you are doing now with the IRA funds
support a more resilient future, especially as we look to the
next round of negotiations? It seems like you get one set of
negotiations done and then you have got another one right
there. But this next round will, you know, be for management
agreements that will expire in 2026. But when can we expect
also to see the long-term IRA funding opportunities roll out in
the Upper Basin?
Ms. Touton. So first, thank you for that level of funding
because it has allowed us to make significant progress within
the entire Basin. You know, the approach of Congress there is
to be able to utilize a significant part of that funding for
long-term, durable projects. So we put out in the Upper Basin
what is called a pre-solicitation notice of--tell us what we
should look at as parameters to fund. Our goal is then to
release a request for proposals later this summer in the Upper
Basin for those long-term, durable projects in order for us to
make decisions on awarding those funds later this year.
We already have a similar process in the Lower Basin, where
we have a request for proposals open until August, and we look
forward to reviewing those as well.
Senator Hickenlooper. Terrific.
And you know, in the front hall in my home in Denver, I
have a painting by a wonderful western artist named Willy
Matthews, and he calls it ``Politics,'' but it's a picture of
two old, scuffed boxing gloves and then around the perimeter of
the painting--it's a watercolor, but it is very
representational, intensely realistic--there is a stick and
then a carrot, then a stick and a carrot. And I just wanted to
commend the Bureau of Reclamation because you have done a great
job of using both carrots and sticks to impel all the western
states to sit down at the table and to recognize that by
working together, there are going to be a lot more carrots than
there would be sticks. And I think it has been a great example
of one of those times where government has worked the way it
should, and I start with the Bureau of Reclamation, but it has
allowed the water experts and the governors and the senators in
the Lower Basin and Upper Basin states to make real progress,
and I think, demonstrate that people with common interests can
actually find compromise and alignment of interests. And it
wouldn't have happened without your work at the top.
All right. So thank you for being here. I want to thank all
my colleagues and today's witness for participating in today's
joint legislative and oversight hearing.
Members are going to have until close of business tomorrow
to submit additional questions for the record.
The Subcommittee now stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:46 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED
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